Estate Sale Finds in 2010!
 

Happy New Year

Kicking off 2010 with a couple TV finds right off the bat. Hard to believe yet another year flys. 2010 marks the 7th edition of the "estate sale finds" thread.

There were actually a few estate sales on new years day and I took advantage of the opportunity to see what was out there. Just one sale, at 9801 S. Carpenter St in Chicago. You know you're in a good area of the city when all the homes have those iron bars with pad locks in front of all the windows and doors...

I found a 1974 RCA XL-100 Mural TV (hotel model) with what appears to be the original stand. The TV was on the stand backwards as shown when I found it, those brackets must somehow retain the TV, but I havn't looked into it yet. Works fine, and yes, you're seeing analog TV pulled in off the rabbit ears! We have quite a few low powered UHF stations on the air still and even one on VHF, channel 6.

In the garage was a silvertone combo, probably a '65 or '66 model. I'd say its been sitting out there for about 10 years. It was free, so why not. Im sure the TV doesn't work, or else it wouldn't be out there. Not in bad shape, just alot of dust and debris on the cabinet.

For the record, here are the previous estate sale finds threads:

estate sale finds in 2009
estate sale finds in 2008
estate sale finds in 2007
estate sale finds in 2006
estate sale finds in 2005
estate sale finds in 2004
additional finds in 2004


In 2003 estate sale finds got posted as a new thread when they were found:

2003 finds A
2003 finds B
2003 finds C
2003 finds D
2003 finds E
2003 finds F


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I am a sucker for combo's..... my back dont really care for them but they are unique in my opinion. those are nice sets you have.

I thought TV stations weren't permitted to transmit analog signals as of June 12 last year. Why are there so many analog TV stations still in Chicago? There is only one analog station left (that I am aware of, anyway) in the Cleveland area (W51BI in Kirtland, east of the city in Lake County, Ohio); I'm not sure if that station is still on the air, as I have cable (Time Warner) which does not carry the station at this time. Are these analog translators going to be around awhile, or is there a cutoff date by which they must either convert to digital or go off the air? :scratch2:

You are fortunate to live in such a rich area for mid century to mid 70's housing. Always seem to be the best goodies at those estate sales.
Nice sets BTW.
Did those RCA bunny ears come with the set? I have looked for over a year for that vintage of RCA set top antennas to go with my XL 100 consoles but the only place to find them is on eBay - and the shipping is always more than the price of the antennna set.
Sorta the same with Zenith set top antennas - very hard to find - but would like to stumble upon a '77 model to go with the CC2 table top set I got from you - even though it has built in antennas.

Duplicate post - please disregard

I thought TV stations weren't permitted to transmit analog signals anymore as of June 12 last year. Why are there so many analog TV stations still in Chicago? There is only one analog station left in the Cleveland area -- W51BI in Kirtland, east of the city in Lake County, Ohio -- and I'm not sure if that station is still on the air. Are these stations (including the ones in Chicago) operating under some sort of special temporary authority and are expected to go off the air or to cable eventually? :scratch2:

BTW, I've been following your estate-sale finds threads in VK since you started posting them seven years ago, and it still amazes me how you are able to find room to store all those old TVs you're finding, especially large consoles such as the Silvertone console pictured in your post. You must have a huge storage building somewhere near your house; that or else your basement is a hundred times or more larger than most.

Doug, looks like you're getting 2010 off to a good start with a couple great finds. I always liked those SS 19" RCA's with the stand up chassis. Very good picture on those sets. Those vertical chassis RCA's were probably among the best SS sets they made.

I assume that Silvertone is built by Warwick. I wonder if it's all tube or is the stereo SS.

Jeff, only full power TV stations were required to discontinue analog broadcasting and go to digital. The low power stations are not required to terminate analog at this time. In my area, we have one such station - channel 47, which is a translator station for the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

"There is only one analog station left in the Cleveland area -- W51BI in Kirtland, east of the city in Lake County, Ohio -- and I'm not sure if that station is still on the air."

From FCC records, it appears that this translator is still transmitting in analog... they have a construction permit to go digital, which expires 12/29/2011.

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=67934

It appears that no firm deadline has been set by the FCC for low power (and likely translators, as well) to transition to digital.

http://www.dtv.gov/lptv.html

jr

Nice silvertone!

The Silvertone looks like a direct competitor for the Airline I picked up recently. A real shame they have to be so darn big. A nice start!

Cool Silvertone! Those don't pop up often. You're off to a good start this year.:thmbsp:

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It looks a lot like my '66, I agree, I would be willing to bet the stereo is SS by that year. My set looks to have a modified CTC 16 clone in it, I look forward to seeing the inside.

Very sweet finds Doug, looks like 2010 should be a promising find year as well! Im looking still on my end as usual.

Happy new year everyone! Nice finds Doug. You always find the best of the best. No TV finds for me yet in 2010 but I did find a mint 1963 RCA Victor clock radio model 3-RD-65, turquoise and white, a real nice one.

Estate Sale Find: 1-23-10
 

Went to a sale at 7332 Crain Ave in Niles, IL this afternoon. The sale was on the third floor of the three flat apartment. Turned up a nice Sears Silvertone console in the early american cabinet. This is a high end sears set too, a very well made sturdy cabinet and it also has the unique slide out control panel. In the living room as you can see, still wired to the antenna. Working perfect, well cared for and low hours. It appears to be a TV that never was serviced either. On the back is the "sears quality" sticker with the date stamp of February 24, 1972 with the inspectors hand written initials. This is a Chicago made Wells Gardner set, they were still loaded up full of tubes still in '72. The TV also came with its owners manual.

There was a guy at the sale who was interested in this late 70's Wards console stereo but he wasn't going to buy it unless the turntable worked. I was not prepaired to move this TV down the staircase in this apartment, so I asked the guy interested in the stereo if he could help me move the TV in return for me fixing the turntable. The changer lever was stuck in the off mode, so we asked the sale people if we could take it apart on the spot and if we could fix it, it would be sold. So we did. I always keep my trusty little xcelite reversable screwdriver in my truck in case I ever want to pop open a TV or radio on the spot. Pulled the phonograph out and fixed it, just had to free a stuck lever due to dried/tacky grease. That made this guy and his wifes day when I got it going as they both told me they were not very mechanical inclinded to undertake repairing it themselves. Everyone at the sale was watching as I took this thing apart in the living room, haha. It was kind of a show and tell, everyone wanted to know how the phonograph worked when I pulled it out. We put it back together and tested it out on one of my favorite albums that I see at almost every estate sale. It was Ray Conniff; 'S awful Nice from 1958. Its amazing how much those instrumentals are appriciated by people my age who never heard the stuff before. Everyone at the sale thought those songs were great. Made me feel good because thats the kind of music I appriciate. So we let that play while the guy helped me move the TV down into my truck. I also helped move the stereo for them also.

Those little things like helping other people out make my day. I made a couple good friends at that sale while others watched me take the stereo apart and also got my name out to the people running the sale that Im into the vintage electronics. Not everything is about money, if people can just help each other out from time to time it makes for a good day.

Yes, thats analog TV you see, picked up live off the outdoor antenna. Channel 23 on UHF is still alive for us Chicagoans.

And no, that '62 Chevy Bel Air 4 door sedan in the driveway wasn't for sale! Darn!

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Good for you for fixing the turntable.

What's the deal with the "chromix" control on the Sears TV?

Am I imagining things, or is that a tilt-out control panel on the Silvertone console? Hmmm. :scratch2: I thought Admiral had a corner on that design.

That control worked with a circuit in the set that injected a soft, warm blue to brown cast into b&w TV pictures; blue at one end of the rotation, brown at the other, and neutral (normal b&w) at center, IIRC. Most people got confused as to how to use the control, so most of the time it was set to neutral and forgotten.

Yes, even the popular TV repair books by Art Margolis back in the 60's would say that the chromix control was more or less a gimick and hassle that didn't do anything but confuse set owners. IIRC, I can quote him out of his 1969 The Practical Handbook of TV repairs that "you should just set the control to neutral and forget it".

The added control makes the control panel look more sophisticated. Thats about it.

As for the control panel, it does not tilt out like the admiral, but rather slides out on a track. There is an upper door that automatically flips open when you pull the bottom section out. So this method was most likely "slivertones" as opposed to Admrials that tilted out. The neat thing about the silvertone is that the channel indicator lights up on both the top of the control panel and also on front, so with the panel closed, channel numbers are always visible. Its a unique and different design, which I like.

Very nice Sears TV! Wasn't '72 the last year that Sears used the Silvertone name? I think I remember reading somewhere that the Silvertone name was phased out on most products in '68-'69; but, remained on high end products until '72.

That is a way cool Sears, It does remind me of a '67 Admiral, I think you have one with a cabinet similar to this. This is the first time I've seen a Sears like that. Can we see the inside? How reliable were the Wells Gardener chassis? I don't see a lot of high hour Sears sets usually. Too bad about the Chevy huh? I was droolin' over that right away.:yes:
So far, it looks like Sears is the theme of your new estate sales thread :)

wells garners were reasonably good sets.i owned a few and they were simple designs,very easy to work on and really good rauland crts.the hybrid chassis with three modules was my favorite.early solid states were good performers too.parts werent readily available but overall i would rate them high on the list.the crts were very sought after her in columbus.they looked good in anything you put them in.we would all try to buy or trade someone out of a sears with a 25v tube back in the day.somewhere if have pictures of me dismantling a beautiful sears set.i bought it at an estate sale.slept all night in a van with my two year old.......................sorry,that issue is closed.

Looks like the TV did see a repair back on March 19, 1979. The card has the date written on the back side and also a tag on the chassis itself, so it did get pulled to go to the shop. The tech was a pro, he put all the screws back and didn't hack anything up when he replaced a resistor on the chroma board. This one has an RCA tube, you can tell right off the bat with the design of the tag (and also the EIA 274). Its a nice clean chassis. WG made a very good TV and they always put out a top notch picture, you can put them up with RCA and Zenith as far as I'm concerned.

Here are some pictures of the inside. My back is still soar from sleeping in my van last night so I could be the first one at this sale. Fortunately my 2 year old didn't keep me up. The real reason I bought this TV is because of the beautiful cabinet. Since vintage video will never be worth that of vintage audio, I was really in a position of not knowing what to do with this TV. Its obvious that the cabinet alone is worth more than the complete TV, however, I seeked reasonable offers from many antique dealers. All of them told me this TV will never be worth anything, so I was left no choice but to part it out. I have always conducted by business very professionally so here are some photos for you....

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ta1B_ryr8bE/S1...0/DSCF1173.JPG

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Good one Ron!:yes::D:smoke:
LMFAO!:lmao::lmao::lmao::D
You wouldn't believe the stuff I started typing over there:naughty: She really got under my skin, I hope since they pulled the listing (or it ended with no bid) they smashed it like they "threatened" to do. That way, the one I might be getting and the ones some of you have will be that much more valuable.:thmbsp: And we will never have to hear the whining about "that one" again. A sad end but good riddance I say.

Anyways, those frickin' pictures have me rolling! I started scrolling down and the ones of your hand in there are priceless.:D And the screwdriver, and the knob, :DHA I'm still laughing damnit!
But that IS a nice tv:yes: It looks really well made, even in '72 it still reminds me of a CTC16 layout as far as looks are concerned. Ya done good this time:thmbsp: Thanks for the pics!:smoke:
P.S. Way to go fixing that turntable, that's the way to be, not enough people are willing to help others anymore. Keeps the karma good too:thmbsp:

Doug, are you sure about the Wells Gardner thing? I was always under the impression that WG made the Airline sets for Wards and that Warwick Electronics made the Silvertones.

veg

I couldn't resist but to make a little light humor joke with those photos. I'm glad someone got a laugh out of it!

Veg, as for the WG or Warwick deal, I may have got my facts screwed up. I always think of WG whenever I see a sears or airline set and I seem to always forget about the warwick name. I was looking up on the internet and it appears that Airline was indeed a WG make. However, I could not find anything about warwick to prove if they were exclusive to sears. Where was warwick based? Warwick, RI? I have no idea. Either Im not looking deep enough, or warwick has been gone so long that nobody cares to write about it or remember it. Even though this link doesn't indicate who made silvertone, it does however give some details as to the history of the silvertone name, so this color set I have would indeed be the end of the line for Silvertone:

http://www.searsarchives.com/brands/silvertone.htm


When I get home, I'll check the model number on the set as the 3 digit number will indicate who made the set. For reference, here's the sears "master list" of manufactuer model codes. Im pretty sure its going to be a 528 as I recall seeing that number on just about all sears sets.



http://acersite.livejournal.com/2131.html



Here is an interesting read. A lawsuit filed against sears, which was my only source about warwick. Still tells me nothing about where they are from.

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:...&ct=clnk&gl=us


.

I do know that 528 is indeed Warwick.

Doug,the way you removed that tube from the chassis does indeed look very
professional.I am impressed! (LMAO)

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I feel the same way. At one time, my area produced a fair amount of old TV's. For some reason, that all took a drastic turn around 2001 or so.

I remember reading that in the early days of color more color sets were sold in Dallas and Oklahoma City than anywhere else. I wonder if anything turns up there anymore.

I, as Andy, live near Austin. The main problem with Austin(in finding vintage electronics) is that it is a fairly new city. The population was about 60,000 in the mid-1960s and is over 1 million now(in the metropolitan area). Since I have lived here(25 years), Austin has more than tripled in size. San Antonio (60 miles south) seems to be a more fertile area for both older TVs and older radios. It has had a large population for a much longer time.

As to OKC and Dallas, I know AK members in both cities(as well as Tulsa). They continue to find items from time to time.

Doug, I think it's very good that you saved that TV set. I don't know much about Wells-Gardener TVs, but I do have a 27" Zenith that I has been in my family since 1990. My parents purchased it new at a store called "Highland Appliance". They are not in business anymore, but they used to have stores located throughout the metro-Detroit area, although I suspect that by 1990 most of the inner-city locations had shut down because of increased crime in the city limits. A lot of people moved out of the city proper. Which reminds me, how are you able to see a picture on that Wells-Gardener TV? When I used my 1990 27" Zenith TV I only get static (also called "white noise") because of the digital transition that occurred last summer. When my parents bought this TV set, I'm pretty sure they were still driving their 1985 Dodge Caravan, which was one of the first minivans. (They bought another in 1992, then a Chrysler Town & Country in 1998. In 2005 they leased another Town and County, before replacing it with yet another Chrysler Town and Country in 2008. This one is a lease too, although they stopped giving good lease deals soon afterwards so now they'll have to purchase one in 2010.) These are all good vehicles for bringing home a fairly large and heavy object like a 27" Zenith TV, although they also have a 2009 Dodge Dakota truck that could also haul home a TV set if there were still anymore Highland Appliance stores in the metro area. They all went out of business when the big box stores (such as Best Buy and Circuit City) came to town, although they never did have any locations in the actual city of Detroit, MI. Although there is one very close to the border located at eastland mall. it's out of business now, not because of any problems, but because of the nationwide shutdown of the chain. I notice you are removing a tube from the TV set in the picture... Be sure to turn off the power because of the high voltages contained inside of the unit.

I live in a very small town about 35 miles east of Cleveland. The town was founded in 1812, and now has a population of 3211 (up from 3180 in 1999; my first landlord grew up here and could remember when the population was just 1500 or thereabouts).

In the time I've lived here (ten years), I have only seen four old TVs on the curbs, and two of those weren't vintage--my best guess would be 1980s-'90s, and were gotten rid of just after the digital transition. Of the other two, only one was anywhere near vintage (1978 RCA 25" console). The other was an RCA portable from 1980 or so. I did see a couple of stereo consoles on the curb across the street from here a couple of years ago, but again, those were the only examples of vintage audio I've seen here; haven't seen another stereo console since.

I guess small towns aren't the best place on Earth to find vintage electronics--at least the one I live in isn't. By contrast, in my hometown of Wickliffe, Ohio (an eastern suburb of Cleveland), one could see vintage TVs and radios being put out on the curbs just about every week from the '60s through the end of the eighties. (I had a sizable collection of old TVs in my basement back in the '70s that were almost all trash finds.)

These days, however, if there are any vintage TVs or radios to be found in that suburb, I bet they are few and far between. The televisions that show up on curbs nowadays are probably, even likely, cheap Pacific Rim CRT-based imports that give up the ghost after a couple of years or after the warranty expires--whichever comes first. I can't help wondering how much longer it will be before I start seeing cheap flat-panel sets on the curbs here. :scratch2:

I already see a lot of them here, mostly because someone tipped the stupid junk over and broke the screen. There was a 50" or so on the curb a few weeks ago. Of course there is the usual BPC everywhere. I really hate it when people smash those all over the street for the copper. Someone did it to me when I threw one out, luckily it was a small set. I hope for the next guy's sake that I'm not home when they do it. Damn "copper smashers" I call 'em:thumbsdn:

Yeah, just about every TV that I see at the dump has been smashed to pieces. The one that really pissed me off was the '50's Zenith B&W console that was basically a pile of broken glass and woodchips by the time I got there.

Speaking of broken LCD sets, someone brought me a 32" Sylvania (Funai) from the dump with a smashed screen. I just used the speakers out of it to replace the blown ones in a flatscreen that I'm repairing for someone and I'll save the boards because I've got a feeling I'll be seeing plenty of these cheapies in the future. As you probably know, those flatscreens will crack and break if you look at them funny. They're not nearly as durable as a CRT face.

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Yes, indeed. I bet a lot of flat-panels get smashed during football season when fans disagree with a referee's call, or one of the fan's favorite (or not so favorite) players makes a dumb or downright stupid move during a play. At least if something is thrown at a CRT set, the tube is almost always spared any damage, because of the safety glass in front of it. However, with a FP, as has been noted, it is all too easy to smash the screen if anything is thrown against it. As zenithfan1 noted, many FPs are ruined when they are tipped over, by accident or otherwise. My RCA CTC185 XL-100 set fell off its stand last year; the only damage to it, if you could call it that, was a slight bend of the shadow mask in the CRT, which I repaired with a couple of sweeps across the tube with an old speaker magnet. Had this TV been a FP, however, it would have been ruined the second it hit the floor, despite the fact that the floors in my apartment are carpeted.

I went over to my friend's shop Saturday-all closed up, but still loaded with stuff. Lots of late model junkers that need to be hauled away and since I had a little space left in the truck I took 4 of them-all LCD. 2 they said were pure junk (and Emerson and a Sanyo, somewhat smaller) and so I just dropped them off at the dump. The other 2 I brought home to play with. #1 is a pretty decent 32" Sharp; the audio amp doesn't work-hook it up to your stereo and it your in business. This might end up in my living room, we'll see what the boss says. The other set is a 32" Toshiba, the screen works but the backlight only comes up for a second at turn-on then back off. I tinkered with it last night for about an hour but couldn't see anything obvious. Stuck it on freecycle and it's gone already.